Steven Stamkos finishes mesmerizing tic-tac-toe passing play

Wednesday, January 13, 2016 9:15:00 AM America/Los_Angeles

After making a run to the Stanley Cup Final a year ago and looking like they were set up to be the dominant team in the Eastern Conference once again, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the more disappointing teams in the NHL through the first half of the season.

But they still have a ton of talent and can be an extremely dangerous team with the puck in the offensive zone.

The Colorado Avalanche found that out on Tuesday night.

Here is Steven Stamkos scoring his 19th goal of the season from his usual spot at the top of the faceoff circle. But it's the way he ended up with the puck that makes this such a highlight reel play as finishes a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play from Ondrej Palat and Vladislav Namestnikov. The whole thing started because of some aggressive puck movement from Lightning goalie Ben Bishop at the other end of the nice.

You want to score goals in the NHL these days? You either have to be right in front of the net, or get the goaltender moving side-to-side like the Lightning did on this play. There is not much a goaltender can do about that kind of puck movement other than tip your cap to other team.